Academics: Majors and Programs

Economics Goals and Objectives

Goals

The goals of the Department of Economics focus on the provision of an economics instruction consistent with the finest traditions of a liberal arts education. In this respect, the student shall comprehend the discipline of economics as not only one that relies on the scientific principles of prediction and forecasting, but as a discipline whose theorizing and policy making embodies cultural and normative considerations as well. This comprehension of economics as both science and art provides the economics major with the broad educational experience that allows one to pursue varied professional and graduate school opportunities as well as immediate endeavors in the world of work upon graduation.

Objectives

A student who has successfully completed the major in economics will be able to:

comprehend the fundamental concepts and theoretical principles of the discipline;

identify the economic dimensions of societal problems by effectively using appropriate economic concepts and definitions;

apply the analytical and theoretical framework of economics in the investigation of societal problems by exhibiting a comprehension of the economic method and its mode of inquiry;

apply the analytical and theoretical framework of economics in the investigation of societal problems by exhibiting a comprehension of the economic decision making process and its underlying rationale;

apply the analytical and theoretical framework of economics in the investigation of societal problems by exhibiting a comprehension of the necessity of relating economic theory to predictive and explanatory policy purposes;

apply the mathematical and quantitative tools of analysis for both problem solving and analytical purposes;

appreciate the role of economics in dealing with social problems traditionally examined by other social science disciplines.